Finn Russell on fatherhood, maturity and why it's too early to talk of Scotland as Six Nations contenders

As Murrayfield rose to acclaim a vintage performance from Finn Russell, there were two special supporters watching on.

His partner Emma Canning and their baby daughter Charlie were in the stands to witness Scotland’s record win over Wales, a 35-7 triumph founded on a second-half display which yielded four tries, each one stamped with the hallmark of Russell. The stand-off was at his imperious best: an outrageous offload for Kyle Steyn’s first try, an inch-perfect cross-kick for Steyn’s second, a delicate chip to Duhan van der Merwe in the lead-up to Blair Kinghorn’s score and a floated pass to Matt Fagerson to round things off in the corner. Russell’s ability to pick out his team-mates with such unerring accuracy amid the noise and fury of Test match is a rare talent and the player acknowledged it was a performance that ranked among his best.

“It was good, it was really good,” he said. “I pretty much did my job as a 10, which is to make the other boys look good, to create these chances for them to finish off. I missed a few kicks and put a couple balls out on the full, which was disappointing for me, but I was happy. It was the first game my daughter was at. Maybe that's why they gave me man of the match! It was a special game for me because she was there for the first time, we got a great result but I played quite well.”

The first half had been towsy. Hookers George Turner and Ken Owens had exchanged lineout maul tries and Russell had popped over a couple of penalties and a conversion, but it was Wales who had finished the half stronger, squandering a golden opportunity just before the interval as the home side struggled to adapt without Turner who had been sin-binned for a high tackle. The hooker returned early in the second half and Russell-inspired Scotland swept their visitors away.

Finn Russell with partner Emma Canning and son Charlie. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

It felt like a landmark occasion in more ways than one: the first time Scotland had won their opening two championship games in the Six Nations era and the first time they had defeated Wales under the charge of Warren Gatland (at the 12th time of asking). Belief is now coursing through Gregor Townsend’s side and they will travel to Paris in a fortnight full of hope after back to back bonus-point wins over England and Wales. France and Ireland still look a cut above but this Scottish team knows how to win at the Stade de France. Against Ireland? Not so much.

Russell, of course, has an insider’s knowledge of French rugby. They may have lost to France on Saturday but Fabien Galthie’s side were worthy grand slam champions last season and Russell quickly moved to douse talk of a Scottish title challenge. “I think that's a long way away yet,” he said. “There are still three games to go. Last week we were definitely happy with the result, but we knew we had a lot more in us. We knew from previous experience of winning that first game that we had to back it up this week. In two weeks time when we go over to France it will be a massive test for us, probably the biggest test we have had, trying to back up the first two wins. I think it is great but we know the job is not even halfway done. There is belief in the team, but we need to keep ourselves grounded. There is no point in us starting to run ahead with it and thinking about the second last and the last game. We need to go over to France and perform as well as we can.”

Russell’s return to the Scotland team has helped unlock the attacking potential of a team who have run New Zealand close, then seen off Argentina, England and Wales. Left out of Townsend’s initial autumn squad and challenged by the coach to show “form and consistency”, it’s heartening to now hear the stand-off say that his relationship with the coach is better than it has ever been. He talks frankly about how tough last season was, coming home from the Lions tour and going straight into a French domestic season, then autumn Tests and Six Nations with barely a pause for breath.

“I was just probably fatigued and I put a bit of weight on,” he said. “The week I was meant to get off after November was cancelled because of Covid so I didn't actually get time off until April last year. I went through the whole year having to play, thinking I was going to get a week off and never got it. It was not the coaches’ choice; it was just how it fell with Covid. Last year was the first time I have been mentally fatigued and out of shape and not enjoying my rugby as much. There was a lot of learning in that for me.”

Finn Russell offloads to Kyle Steyn for the winger's first try against Wales. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

This season has been different, and Russell says Emma moving to Paris was a huge factor in his changing his lifestyle for the better. “Becoming a father wasn't the biggest thing,” he said. “It was probably more when we found out my partner was pregnant and that then gave me a new responsibility straightaway. It wasn't just me, it was three of us. The last four and a half years I've been in Paris on my own. My partner moved over just after the Six Nations last year. Having someone with me day in and day out has probably helped me a bit, without me knowing I needed that. That's probably helped me a lot, having the new responsibility of her falling pregnant and having her with me. That's probably a big factor in how I'm playing just now. It was something I needed.”

Scorers: Scotland: Tries: Turner, Steyn 2, Kinghorn, M Fagerson. Cons: Russell 2. Pens: Russell 2.

Wales: Try: Owens. Con: Biggar.

Yellow cards: Scotland: Turner (33). Wales: L Williams (56), Rhys Webb (82).

Finn Russell was awarded player of the match by Doddie Weir's sons Hamish, Ben and Angus. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

Scotland: S Hogg (B Kinghorn 13); K Steyn, H Jones, S Tuipulotu (C Harris 71), D van der Merwe; F Russell, B White (G Horne 59); P Schoeman (J Bhatti 64), G Turner (F Brown 59), Z Fagerson (WP Nel 64), R Gray, G Gilchrist (J Gray 64), J Ritchie (capt), L Crosbie (F Brown 37-42; J Dempsey 44), M Fagerson.

Wales: L Williams; J Adams (A Cuthbert 58), G North (A Cuthbert 33-40), J Hawkins, R Dyer; D Biggar (R Patchell 56), T Williams (R Webb 56); W Jones (R Carre 52), K Owens (S Baldwin 64), D Lewis (L Brown 64), D Jenkins (R Davies 65), A Beard, C Tshiunza, T Reffell, J Morgan (T Faletau 52).

Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU).

Attendance: 67,144.